If it’s not one devaluation, it’s another. In somewhat surprising news, American Express is telling cardmembers that, starting 3/1/26, Membership Rewards will no longer transfer to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles at a 1:1 ratio. Instead, it will be dropping to 5:4 (1000 Membership Rewards:800 Asia Miles)
This morning, Greg received the following news at the bottom of one of his American Express statements:
Changes to Membership Rewards® Points Transfer Ratio for Cathay PacificEffective March 1, 2026 , the ratio for transferring Membership Rewards points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles TM will be changed from:“1 Membership Rewards point = 1 Asia Mile” to “5 Membership Rewards points = 4 Asia Miles”. You can review the current pointtransfer ratio anytime at https://global.americanexpress.com/rewards/transfer .
Ironically, just a couple of nights ago, during Ask Us Anything, Greg told everyone that his favorite flight of 2025 was a daytime British Airways First Class trip between Boston and London…that he purchased with Asia Miles. He used Cathay to book the flight because the surcharges were much lower than those for booking the same flight with British Airways Avios, Alaska Atmos, or American AAdvantage. Because of that, it can be a surprisingly attractive option to book British Airways flights, although that will look worse once the transfer ratio decreases.
If it feels like we’ve seen this before, it’s because we have. Over the last year, we’ve seen Emirates Skywards steadily reduce the transfer ratios across its copious transfer partners. First, American Express dropped from 1:1 to 5:4, then Chase subsequently removed Emirates completely. Finally, Capital One announced last week that it would be reducing its transfer rate to Skywards to 5:4 in January, leaving Bilt as the last program (for now) that still transfers 1:1.
Could we be about ready to see the same thing happen to Asia Miles? The most likely reason that Amex is lowering its transfer ratio is that Cathay wants more bling for its miles…the exact same situation as with Emirates, from the sounds of it.
Cathay Pacific currently has six 1:1 transfer partners: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Mesa, and Rove. It seems far-fetched to think that Asia Miles would ask for a significantly higher rate from Amex than it would from other transferable programs once it comes time to renegotiate their respective agreements. My guess is that Amex is only the first domino to fall, and that we’ll see other transferable currencies lowering their transfer rates to Cathay over the next year or.
Best Uses for Asia Miles
- Oneworld Multi-carrier award: Asia Miles can be used for terrific value on a round-the-world trip (RTW) using a Oneworld multi-carrier award. Oftentimes, a RTW award can end up being 50% or more cheaper when compared to the mileage cost of booking the included legs individually. You can see the Asia Miles Oneworld multi-carrier chart here to get an idea of pricing. Most RTW itineraries will price between 165,000-210,000 Asia Miles.
There are a few rules, the nuts and bolts are as follows:
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- You can use two different Oneworld airlines if Cathay Pacific is not one of the carriers in the itinerary.
- You can use three or more Oneworld airlines if Cathay Pacific is one of the carriers in the itinerary.
- Total flight distance cannot exceed 50,000 miles
- Maximum of 5 stopovers
- Maximum of 2 layovers
- Maximum of 2 open-jaws
- You must start and end in the same city
- Europe on AA: A one-way American Airlines flight from the Midwestern or East Coast U.S. to Europe is 58,000 Asia Miles in business class or 27,000 miles in economy. Flights from the West Coast are more expensive at 84,000 Asia Miles in business or 40,000 in economy. Taxes and fees one-way are ~$30.
- US to Australia on Qantas: Business class one-way from the US to Australia starts at 84,000-110,000 Asia Miles one-way. Flights to Brisbane price out at 84,000 miles, while flights to Melbourne are 110,000 miles. Sydney is 110,000 from LAX and 84,000 from SFO. It’s best to use British Airways or Alaska Airlines to search for Qantas award space, then move to the Cathay site if you find availability. Sometimes, it’s necessary to call Cathay. Availability can, of course, be tough to find, and taxes and fees one-way are ~$420-450.
- Southern South America on AA or LATAM: Business class one way from the US to Chile, Brazil, and Argentina is 58,000 Asia Miles one-way on AA or LATAM. Traditionally, it was best to use British Airways or Qantas to search for award space, but LATAM availability on BA has become tricky, either showing phantom availability or none at all. Some folks have found better luck searching for space on ExpertFlyer. Taxes and fees one-way are ~$30.
- Early Oneworld availability: Cathay Pacific opens up award bookings 360 days before departure, as opposed to 331 days for American Airlines. This can allow you to reserve award seats using Asia Miles almost one month before AAdvantage members.
Things to Know
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AsiaMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Asia Miles frequent flyer account to search). For some awards, it can be easier to locate space on BritishAirways.com first.
- How to book awards: Book online at AsiaMiles.com for Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar, Qantas, Alaska and Finnair. All other partners or complex itineraries (and some awards for the previous carriers) should be booked via phone (Asia Miles U.S. office is 866-892-2598).
- Change and cancellation fees: $50 or 7,500 miles if done online / $90 or 13,500 miles if done over the phone (fees are per person, per sector) for changes. $120 or 17,000 miles to cancel.
- Key warnings: Fuel surcharges are moderate depending on route and origin, but can be $200-$400 on some carriers.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
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